Posts Tagged ‘ParagonRx’

FDLI Conference on REMS: Benefits and Risks Meet Liabilities and Opportunities

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

- Guest blog by Roger Morris, The LondonBritian Company -

You’ve heard all the analogies:  Is the glass half empty or half full?  Does the dark storm cloud have a silver lining?

I was constantly reminded of this during the Food & Drug Law Institute’s latest conference on REMS held February 16 in Washington, D.C., as the residents and transportation system was trying to dig out of one-two snowstorms.  It was an interesting conference, one that built substantially on the groundwork done at last year’s REMS conference which the FDLI co-hosted with ParagonRx. (more…)

Are You Attending the FDLI’s Important REMS Conference in Washington?

Friday, February 5th, 2010

- Guest blog by  Roger Morris, The LondonBritain Company -

Having worked in communications in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 25 years, I continue to be amazed at how even strong competitors remain so open to sharing information and experiences.  Perhaps it’s the academic nature of pharmaceutical research that filters out to everyone else in the business, but the industry is constantly talking within itself – from scientific publications about new compounds to physician disease-state annual meetings to specialty conferences.

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We’ve Grown to Better Support Our Clients

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Since 2003, ParagonRx has helped design, document, or negotiate dozens of risk management programs and REMS for pharmaceutical products.  Clients who choose to work with us have done so because of three operating principles:

  1. We believe in a balanced approach to REMS design in which safety objectives are achieved while preserving commercial viability.
  2. We employ science-based methods to reliably design and measure rational, defendable programs.
  3. We strive to inspire confidence in clients facing uncertain situations by providing specialized thinking, expert analysis and remarkable responsiveness by our experienced staff.

Those potential clients who did not choose to work with us often cited the need for a firm with broader capabilities to implement communication plans and elements to assure safe use.

At the start of this year, ParagonRx fulfilled its vision of being able to provide end-to-end REMS and risk management services by joining inVentiv Health. (more…)

REMS Assessments

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

As we advise clients about REMS design and implementation, the most frequent concern we encounter is related to REMS assessment.  A look at the math reveals why this is so.  Over 63 REMS have been approved since FDAAA statutes for REMS became effective in March 2008.  Of those, more than 90% are comprised of Medication Guides and/or Communication Plans, plus an assessment.  (more…)

An excerpt from Expert Evaluation of RxFMEA™, a white paper by Benjamin A. Berman

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Description of RxFMEA™

RxFMEA™ is a proprietary modification and extension of the basic FMEA methodology and that of Healthcare FMEA (HFMEA™), an adaptation of FMEA that was developed by the U.S. Veteran’s Administration. My review of the process suggests that the objective of RxFMEA™ is the comprehensive management of risks in the pharmaceutical industry. Because of the active involvement of trained personnel and untrained consumers in the distribution and use of pharmaceuticals, RxFMEA™ extends the basic FMEA and HFMEA™ processes in the following ways (more…)

Airplanes and Medications

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Airplanes and medications seem like items that don’t mix well. In fact, the discussion of a recent webinar suggests otherwise, at least as it relates to risk management. Captain Ben Berman shared experiences from his role as former Chief of Major Investigations of the U.S. National Transportation Board in which he served as a member of the major accident go-team responsible for safety studies about flight crew human factors. (more…)

Pharmaceutical Safety Risk Management

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

What a difference a year makes…

In early 2008, the topic of risk management was greeted with aversion by most pharmaceutical managers responsible for commercial activities.  “If I encounter a drug with genuine safety concerns, I’ll call you” was a frequent response.

Today, everyone is talking about risk management… and for good reason.  The FDA Amendment Act (FDAAA) of 2007 granted FDA sweeping new authority to require Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) of any product at any stage of lifecycle.  In response to FDAAA, industry had three immediate questions:

  • What determines if REMS will be necessary?
  • How actively will FDA implement the REMS provisions?
  • Who should be thinking about risk management?

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REMS Programs for Opioid Drugs?

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

REMS programs for opioid drugs? A worthy approach but many questions remain to be answered.

Developing an effective REMS program – one designed to preserve access for every person who would benefit from a medication while avoiding exposure in situations and individuals with excessive risk factors – is a challenge. The difficulty increases when the risks expand beyond inadvertent misuse to also include intentional abuse.

Recently the FDA signaled its intent to tackle risks involving opioids that have both significant benefits for certain segments of patients and also the potential for misuse and abuse. On March 3, the FDA will sit down with 15 manufacturers of 24 opioid medications to begin the process of outfitting them with REMS.
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REMS Planning – Not Just For Safety

Friday, February 6th, 2009

REMS planning is not only good for safety, it can also help increase product adoption.

If you’re interested in REMS because you’re in the Regulatory, Legal, Medical or R&D departments of a pharmaceutical, device or biotech manufacturing company, you might want to forward this post to your colleagues in Marketing, especially if they are working on product launches.  Many Marketing people intuitively suspect any attempt to guide appropriate use of their fledgling product – such as a REMS or other risk management program – is going to negatively affect sales and reputation. 

And that does make sense, doesn’t it?  But the facts don’t support the belief. 
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Thoughts Shared at FDLI Risk Management Conference

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

FDA and the industry share thoughts at FDLI risk management conference

Earlier this month, while Washington was bustling with Inaugural preparations, there was an excellent meeting in the capital on pharmaceutical risk management, hosted by the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) at the offices of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.  The impetus of the meeting was to provide a forum for some of the authors of the recently published text, Pharmaceutical Risk Management: Practical Applications (FDLI, 2008) as well as other experts within the industry and within the FDA.  Industry veteran Wayne Pines, who edited the book along with me and my colleague at ParagonRx, Gary Slatko, chaired the conference.

I would like to share with you some of the more-intriguing thoughts to come out of the conference, as well as a few news tidbits – but first let me say that if you would like to obtain a complete transcript of the conference or to buy a copy of PRM: Practical Applications, please contact the FDLI website at www.fdli.org.
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